Folding machine



y 1942- w. E. NAUGLER 2,284,010

FOLDING MACHINE Filed March-5 1941 Figl Patented May 26, 19 42 FOLDING MACHINE Walter E. Naugler, Beverly, Mass, assignor to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Flemington, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Application March 5, 1941, Serial No. 381,883

11 Claims. (Cl. 12-55) This invention relates to folding machines, and more particularly to machines for folding the skived edges of leather shoe parts and the like.

One type of folding machine in extensive commercial use is illustrated and described in Letters Patent of the United States No. 1,702,598, granted February 19, 1929, on an application of P. R. Glass. In this type of folding machine, the work is intermittently fed by the cooperative action of a hammer and anvil which also act to press a previously formed fold just prior to feeding the work. The fold is formed by a folding finger which reciprocates through the surface on which the work is supported andbends the margin of the work upwardly against a creaser foot, which determines the line of fold. The work is turned'up prior to reaching the folding finger by an upwardly inclined surface on a plow, there being a gage member cooperating therewith against which the edge of the work is held to' determine the width of the folded margin. The folding finger operates in timed relation to the hammer and anvil so that the work is stationary while the folding finger folds the margin of the work, after which the hammer presses the previously formed fold and the work is intermittently fed thereby through short distances. This type of folding machine has proved very satisfactory in commercial use, but in order properly to fold the work with a uniform margin of fold, it is necessary for the operator to guide the work through the machine and maintain the edge of the work in engagement with the aforementioned gage member. This may require considerable effort on the part of the operator, particularly when traversing curved portions of the work, and difficulty may sometimes be experienced when folding the margins of light .or flimsy pieces of leather, in maintaining the edge thereof in contact with the gage member. 7

One of the objects of this invention is to provide, in a folding machine of the type illustrated in the aforementioned Glass patent, automatic work-gaging means for holding the work against a gage member on the plow, thereby reducing the effort required by the operator in the use of the machine. To this end, and as a feature of the invention, an automatic gage member is arranged to rest on the edge of the work as it is deflected upwardly by' the plow and is operated intermitr tently to exert a pull on the work to move it upwardly into engagement with the fixed gage member on the plow, this automatic gaging means operating in timed relation with the folding finger so that the work is pulled upwardly into proper position just prior to a folding movement of the folding finger.

These and other features of the invention will now be described in detail in connection with the drawing, in which Fig. 1 is a front elevation, partly in section, of a portion of a folding machine in which the present invention is embodied, illustrating the automatic gaging means;

Fig. 215 a front elevation, partly in section, on a larger scale than Fig. 1, illustrating the gaging means prior to operation thereof to position the edge of the work for the operation of the folding finger;-

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the operating head of the machine;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view on the line IVIV of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 5 is a detail view ofthe gaging means after operation thereof with the work positioned properly for the operation of the folding finger.

The machine is illustrated as comprising a work support H] at the outer end of an arm l2 which extends laterally from a base housing the driving mechanism as illustrated in the Glass patent.

Mounted on the arm I2 is a plow or gage block I4 having an upwardly'inclined plow surface l6 (Figs. 2 and 5.) for deflecting upwardly the margin of a piece of work W, which is subsequentlyv folded by a reciprocating folding finger [8 against the adjacent surface 20 of a creaser foot 22 supported by an overhanging arm 23 and mounted for yielding vertical movement, as illustrated .more particularly in Letters Patent of the United States No. 2,147,749, granted February 21, 1939, on an application of H. B. Miller. During the upwardmovement of the folding finger l8 to fold the margin of the work against the surface 20 of the creaser foot, the work is held against movement by a gripper member 24, sometimes called a release lever, having a surface 25 which cooperates with the under surface of the creaser foot to grip the work thereagainst, this gripper member being raised intermittently as illustrated in the Glass patent to grip the work while it is being tions shown in Fig. 3 to press another portion of the margin after it is folded by the folding finger.

The plow l4 has on its rearward side at the upper end'of the plow surface I6 a gage member (Fig. 2) against which the edge of the work should be maintained in order that the width of fold will be uniform. In present day folding.

machines of this type, the work is maintained against the gage member by the operator in guiding the work through the machine. While the effort required to do this while folding the margin along a straight edge is not appreciable, considerable manipulation of the work is required when folding around curved portions of the work. If the leather is particularly thin or flimsy, some difiiculty may be encountered. inasmuch as the work must be pushed under the creaser foot which is spring-pressed toward the work support, and the edge of the work may curl where it engages the gage member so that special care must be exercised bythe operator when folding pieces of leather ofthis character.

In order to reduce substantially this effort required by the operator, the gage block I4 is provided with an automatic gaging mechanism which operates in timed relation to the operation of the folding finger l8 positivelyto bring the edge intermittently against thegage 'surface, as will be fully explained. Forflthis pur pose, the plow I4 is provided with an aperture within whichis pivoted at 32 about an axis substantially parallel to' the line of feed a rocker member 34. Formed integrally with the rocker member is a portion 35 acting as .a follower,

less of the contour therof. slidably mounted within the rocker member 34 is a gripper member42 urged by gravity away from the adjacent surface of the follower portion '36 of the rocker member. The work-engaging portion of the gripper member 42, has teeth 44 arranged to grip the work so that'when the gripper member is urged toward the left, from the position of Fig.

2, against the force of gravity and the rocker member 34 is moved to the position shown in "the surface of a cam 56 mounted on a shaft 58,

Figs. 1 and 5 by mechanism to be described, the

work will be gripped between the teeth and a toothed roll 46. The roll 46 is mounted onan arm' 48 corresponding to the arm carrying the gage finger of the Glass patent. This roll cooperates with the'gripper member when moved in the manner described above to the position of Fig. 1 from the position of Fig. 2 or from any other position to cause the work to roll around the periphery of the roll 46 so that the curvature of the margin of the work asitis pulled upwardly will approximate, the curvature of the surface l6 of the gage block. 'In the absence of this roll, the work wouldbridge the space beoversized hole in the bar 16 through which the tweenthe creaser foot and-the gage member 30,

instead of following the curvature of the gage block, with the result that the correct width'of work would not be presented to the folding finger.

The mechanism for operating the automatic gagewill now'be described. A member 50 mounted at the upper. end of a slide member 52 is arranged to be reciprocated vertically to actuate the rocker member 34 and to move it intermittion of Fig. 1.

tently from the position of Fig. 2 to the posimember 50 has a surface which is complemental to the adjacent surface of the rocker member 34 whereby upon upward movement of the member 50 the rocker member 34 will be rotated in a clockwise direction against the force exerted by-the spring 38. Integral with the actuating member 56 and extending toward the operator is a lug 54 acting as a cam follower and engaging which rotates constantly during the operation of the machine to actuate the gripper member 24 and the folding finger I8 in the manner described by the Glass patent. Accordingly, the rocker member 34 is rocked to the position shown in Fig. 1 in timed relation with the movements of the folding finger l8 and the gripper member 24.

The'slide member 52 which carries the actuating member-50 is dovetailed in cross-section, as shown in Fig. 4, and is slidably mounted between the arm 12 of the machine and a removable plate member 60 secured to the arm by screws 62. A boss 64 projects laterally from the lower end of'the slide member 52 andforms an abutment for a compression spring 66, the upper end of which engages the under side of the arm 12 .to urge the slide'member. downwardly so that the lug 54 of the actuating member 50 will bemaintained in contact with the cam 56..

As pointed out above, the gripper member 42 is normally urged by gravity away from the roll 46. During movement of the actuating member 34. from the positionof Fig. 2 to the position of Fig. 1, the gripper member 42 is moved toward the left to grip the work between it and the roll 46 and move the edge of the work up to the gage member 30. on the gage block to the position 'shown in Figs.'1 and 5. *The right or heel end of the gripper member 42 is provided with a curved surface 69'arranged to be engaged, by a vertically movable plunger 10 which is arranged for vertical movement as well as lateral movement in a slideway 12 in the plate 60 (Fig. 4).

The upper end of the plunger 10 is'inclined upwardly toward the heel end of the gripper member 42 and cooperates with an inclined surface 14 (Fig. 2) at the upper end of the slideway 12 so that as the plunger 10 is moved upwardly it will also rock toward the left to the position shown in Fig. 1 to move the gripper member toward the left.

To permit this rocking movement, the lower end of the plunger 10 is reduced in cross-section and is loosely received in an aperture in the outer endof a bar 16. the other end of which is secured by ascrew 18 to the lower end of the slide member 52. A spring 80. forms a yielding connection between the bar 16 and the plunger 10 so, that the plunger moves thegripper member toward the left against the force of gravity to grip the work with a yielding pressure. The

reduced portion of the plunger 10 passes permits lateral movement of the. plunger during its upward movement.

.In the operation of the machine, a work piece W is intermittently pulled to the right by the automatic gage member to the position of Fig. l, in which the edge of the work piece contacts the gage 30 on the plow I4. After the work has thus been positioned and before it is engaged by the folding finger I8, the gripper member 42 is permitted to slide to the right under the influence of The upper end of the actuating I the positions gage arranged to gravity by downward movement-of the plunger p The foldingfinger then grips the work between the hammer 26 moves downwardly to press the folded portion of the margin agam'st the anvil 28. The gripper member 24 which has beenin an upper position, in which it grips the work between it and the under surface of the creaser foot, is now moved downwardly and the hammer and anvil move in unison to feed the work a short distance, after which the hammer moves upwardly and the hammer and anvil return to in Fig. 3. 'During the feeding movework, the portion 36 of the rocker ment of the member 34 follows the edge of the work and may move to the position of Fig. 2, if a curved portion 'of the work is being folded. However, if a straight portion-of the work is being folded, the rocker member will remain in the position of Fig. 1, since the spring 38 is not strong enough to cause the rocker member to force the work downwardly but is only of sufficient strength to insure that the portion 36 of'the rocker member will remainin engagement with the work. -In the event that the edge of the work should move above the gage 3!], the rocker member will move with it in a clockwise direction beyond the position of Fig. 1. During the return movements of the hammer and anvil and before the folding finger has moved upwardly to engage the margin of the work, the gripper member 42 will again be moved to the left'to grip the work against the roll 35, whereupon the rocker member 34 will o be rocked to the position of Fig. 1 -so that the edge of the work is moved into engagement with the gage on the gage block [4, thereby correctly positioning the Work for the action of the folding finger. If the'edge of the work should move too high before the operationof the gaging mechanism, it will be forced down to the correct position by movement of the rocker member 34 back to the position of Fig. 1. The use of this automatic gaging mechanism in maintaining the edge of the work in contact with the gage member 30 greatly reduces the effort required on thepart of the operator, particularly when folding thin work pieces, and insures the formation of a folded I margin of uniform Width.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Pat ent of the United States is:

1. In a folding machine, a work support, means for feeding a piece of work over said work support, means for folding the margin of the work, a contact the edge of the work, and means intermittently adjusting the position of the edge to bring it into engagement with said gage thereby to present a predetermined width of margin to said folding means.

2. In a folding machine, a work support, means for feeding a piece of work over said work support, folding means arranged to fold the margin of a work piece being fed over the work support, and means acting on said work piece in a direction transverse to the direction of feeding movement for presenting a predetermined width thereof to the folding'means.

3. In a folding machine, a work support, means for feeding a work piece oversaid work support, a reoiprocable folding finger for progressively folding the margin of the work being fed, and means acting in timed relation with said folding finger for causing apredetermined Width of material to be presented to thefolding finger.

4. In a folding machine, a work support, a plow for deflecting the margin of a work piece upwardly from the work support, means'for folding the margin of the work deflected upwardly by said plow, a-gage member arranged to contact with the edge of the upwardly deflectedwork near said plow, and means acting on the Work to maintain the edge in contact with said gage member.

5; In a folding machine, a Work support, means for feedinga workpiece over 'said support, a reciprocable folding finger for folding the margin ofthe work being fed, a plow for deflecting the margin of'the work upwardlyfor the action of the folding finger, a gage' member arranged to contact with the edge-of the upwardly deflected work near said plow, and means acting on the work in timed relation with said folding. finger for maintaining the edge-of the work in contact with ."said gagemember.

' below the plane of'the 6. In a folding machine,'a work support, means for folding the margin of a piece of work, means forfeeding the work along a predetermined path,

an edge follower pivoted for movement about an axis substantially parallel to the path of feed, means maintaining said edge follower in engagement with the edge of the work, means for intermittently moving said follower about said pivot to a predetermined position, and means cooperating with said follower for moving the work bodily therewith during said movement.

'7. In a folding machine, a work support, means for folding the margin of a piece of work, means for feeding the work along a predetermined path,

' an edge follower pivoted for movement about an axis substantially parallel to the path of feed and 8. In a folding machine, a work support, 'a

plow for deflecting the margin of a work piece upwardly from the work support, a toothed roll arranged to engage the upper surface of the upwardly deflected margin,'means for'folding, the margin of the work deflected upwardly by said plow, a gripper member movable toward and away from said toothed roll for periodically moving said gripper member toward said roll, and means for then moving said gripper member and the work into a predetermined position heightwise of said roll.

9. In a folding machine, a worksupport, a plow for deflecting the margin of a workpiece upwardly from the work support, a toothed roll adjacent to said plow. and arranged to engage the upper surface of the" upwardly deflected margin, means for folding the margin of the work deflected upwardly by said plow, a gripper member arranged for movement toward and away from said roll intermittently to hold the margin of thework thereagainst, means mounting said gripper memberflfor heightwise movement relative to said roll, means for causing said gripper member to move up and down with the edge of the work when it is out of gripping relationship with said roll, means for periodically moving said work support, meansmain- I taining said edge follower inengagement with I intermit- 7 tently holding the work thereagainst, means for V 'tion while the work is held between said heightwise positionwhile the work iszgripped he-- tween-it and the roll.

10, In a folding machine, a-worlbsupportf means v for feeding 'a ;work piece; over said work support, a plow for deflectingthe margin lof the workpiece upwardly from the work support asit .is fed, means for folding the margin of the work deflected upwardly by'said plow, a toothed roll.

adjacent to said plow and arranged for engagement withthe upper faceof the work; near the edge thereof, an edge follower pivoted about-an feedoi the work, a gripper member slidably car- Jneanslfor feedinga, work; p ece over said work support, -aplow; for deflecting the margin of the work piece upwardly from the work sl port as -it; is fed thereover; a toothed rolladjacent to said axis substantially; parallel to the direction of ried bysaidedge followerfor movement toward and away from] saidatoothed; roll, means for 'pe-y riodically -moving said gripper member toward said roll for grippingthe work thereagainst, and means for moving said edge follower and-with it the gripper member-to apredetermined posiv V p member and the roll to move; the work to will be folded thereby.

plow and arranged for engagement with the upp r face of the upwardly deflected margin,

means for intermittently folding the margin of the work'deflected upwardly by said plow, 'means for-intermittently pressing thefolded margin' and feedingv the work, an edge -follower pivoted for movement about an axis substantially parallel to the path of the work, a gripper member .slidably jcarriedby said edgefollower and arranged for movement toward and away from said roll, means Ior intermittently moving said grip.-

per member toward said roll to cause the margin of the work to be held against said troll, and means for rocking said edge vfollower to a prede- ;terminedlposition while the work is held against said zroll, s aid last-named means operating .prior' to "a folding'movement of said folding means whereby aflpredetermined width of the margin WALTER E. NA'UGLER. 

